Coalition: New Farm Bill Program Will Help Great Lakes

"This program is a winner for farmers, communities and the Great Lakes."

05-28-2014
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Jordan Lubetkin

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced a new federal initiative that provides financial support to farmers to take action to improve the health of Great Lakes rivers, streams and wetlands to stop toxic algal blooms in the Lakes.

The Great Lakes are one of eight priority regions across the country that will receive funding as part of a new $2.4 billion, 5-year program in the recently passed Farm Bill. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program, as it is known, targets conservation funding on agricultural land to areas of greatest need. The new program will also fund state and national conservation projects to improve soil quality, water quality, and wildlife habitat through a competitive, merit-based process.

In the Great Lakes region, federal conservation efforts will focus on reducing harmful algal blooms that are caused when manure and excessive fertilizer flow off of farm fields and into rivers, streams and the Great Lakes. Toxic to people, pets, and wildlife, algal blooms can close beaches, kill fish, harm drinking water supplies, and hurt local businesses.

Responding to the new program, Todd Ambs, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

"This program is a winner for farmers, communities and the Great Lakes.

"The program will help bolster Great Lakes restoration efforts at a time when we’re seeing a lot of inspiring results—yet also understand that there’s much more work to do. This program has great potential for building on the many restoration successes that we have seen through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to improve the health of the Lakes.

"We thank Sen. Stabenow, Secretary Vilsack and the Obama Administration for their commitment to the Lakes and the millions of people who rely on them for their drinking water, jobs, and way of life."